Purcellville, Va. — Last season, Louis Volker enjoyed sneaking around the court. Just a freshman, Volker was comfortable following by example, doing everything she could to learn from senior teammate Megan Stevenson, and in doing so earned All-LoCo honorable mention honors.
“I’m really thankful to have been able to play with Megan, because she’s an amazing player. Getting my butt kicked by her every day was definitely great practice,” Volker said. “Last season, it was easier for me to sneak around a little bit, not being in as much of the spotlight like Megan was.”
But this year is different.
Now, only a sophomore, Volker is completely in the spotlight and playing like she has something to prove. On January 21, she showed everyone why she and the rest of the Loudoun Valley High School girls basketball team are the most dangerous team in the Dulles District as she turned in a 22-point, 14-rebound double double as the Vikings rolled past the Loudoun County Captains, 49-23.
“Nobody works harder than her,” Loudoun Valley head coach Bill Reynolds said. “It kills her that she can’t come into school and shoot every morning. She’s one of those players that has to hit 100 shots before leaving the gym.”
[adrotate banner=”43″]Volker—who was regularly guarded by a Division I commit—took no time to get started against the Captains, grabbing three rebounds and scoring a bucket in the game’s first 90 seconds. From there, there was no slowing Volker down, as she continued to attack the basket, picking up a double double in the first half alone with 13 points, 10 rebounds.
In limited minutes in the second half, Volker added 9 points and 4 rebounds to finish with game highs in points and rebounds.
Despite the impressive individual performance, Volker could not stop applauding her team’s effort after the game, citing a specific jump shot by sophomore forward Abigail Hall in the fourth quarter.
“We all bond together really well, and we’re all really super good friends. That trust is a really important aspect for us,” Volker said. “We’re all working on individual stuff at practice, so when Abby hit that shot, we were all so excited, because we know that’s what she’s been working on.”
Although Volker led the charge, the Vikings put together a balanced scoring effort thanks to an aggressive defense and the poised leadership of junior point guard Jane Bodamer, who finished with 6 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
“As good as the scorers are, Jane’s the engineer that runs this train,” Reynolds said.
Loudoun Valley junior guard Alison Pike and senior forward Grace Wagers added 7 and 6 points, respectively.
For Loudoun County, Delaware State-commit Elayna Whitley led the way with 12 points and 6 rebounds, but the Captains never caught the big break they needed as they played from behind from the start.
Loudoun County (1-2, 4-5) will look to pick up some wins down the stretch as the Captains still have an outside opportunity to host a first round playoff game this season. Sitting in the driver seat, Loudoun Valley (4-0, 10-0) is currently on top of the Dulles District with just over a week to play in the regular season. But despite their position, the Vikings are not content.
“We have to stay confident,” Volker said. “But we also have to stay hungry.”
Lorallye Partlow captured 100+ photos at the game…
Loudoun Valley Stats
| Loudoun Valley | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Louis Volker | 22 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4-for-5 |
| Alison Pike | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1-for-1 |
| Grace Wagers | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2-for-3 |
| Jane Bodamer | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2-for-3 |
| Abigail Hall | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Sarah Cohoon | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Kate Brennan | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-1 |
| Alex Phillips | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Morgan Lockhart | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Allyson Cassell | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Sawyer Peterson | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Cora Ely | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 49 | 34 | 6 | 15 | 5 | 9-for-13 |
Loudoun County Stats
| Loudoun County | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Elayna Whitley | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2-for-2 |
| Jenny Allen | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Tess McMullen | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-2 |
| Leah Harden | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1-for-2 |
| Riley White | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1-for-4 |
| Allison Mallow | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Sofie Steel | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Emma Fox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Sofia Alzate | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Abigale Dobies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 23 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4-for-10 |